In yesterday’s entry I emphasized that this off-season is a perilous one for the Phillies organization. Over the course of my entry I gave some valid reasons for this, but managed not to express just how serious the situation is. Think of it this way, last season the Phils won the NL East by three games. They would have only won the wild card by two games if they had not taken the division. In 2007 the division was won by one game, and they would not have made the playoffs if they did not defeat the Mets. That means that over those two seasons (approximately 244 games) the Phillies made the playoffs by a whopping margin of four games. With only a slight shift in fortune the Fightins could have very easily been on the outside looking in. I’m not, by any means trying to be a doomsayer. They definitely earned those titles. But the National League East is going to be even more competitive next year than it was this past season. The Mets are likely to land at least one major free agent, the Marlins will be fiercely competitive with their slew of young talent , and the Braves are not going to quietly ride into the sunset. They will dog the Phillies steps all season. If we want to win next year, we need to improve just as much as the other teams improve. That does not mean we need any major changes, but we do have important holes to fill.
